The new politics part 94

Frank Field the Thatcherite.

My colleague Mehdi and I did a double-take just now when we saw the odd duo of Frank Field and Charles Moore striding through the Commons, locked in intense conversation.

But then, Field is poverty tsar to the new Tory-led administration. It should also be remembered that he was the sole Labour MP to join Tory loyalists in urging Margaret Thatcher to stay in power when she quit.

Many Tory MPs love him, and presumably some hoped he would defect -- certainly a fair number wanted him to be Speaker. Now, in effect, they have him. Perhaps he was talking to Moore about the glory days under Maggie. Moore is writing the Iron Lady's biography.